Todd Beamer: American Hero, Wheaton College Grad, Remembered

WHEATON, IL — Most who remember Sept. 11, 2001, have the story of where they were that day memorized. Though Wheaton sits more than 800 miles from New York City, the terrorist attacks that occurred on that date took the life of a resident who remains a hometown hero.

Michigan native and Wheaton College graduate Todd M. Beamer was a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 when it was taken over by hijackers. He helped lead the charge of people who fought back against the hijackers before the plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field instead of its suspected target, the White House or the U.S. Capitol.

Wheaton was Beamer's first hometown, and he graduated from Wheaton College in 1991. His final words overheard by a dispatcher at an Oakbrook call center — "Are you ready? OK. Let's roll" — became a slogan for American resilience in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Here in Illinois, "Let's roll" adorns a bas-relief featuring an image of Todd and his sons at the Todd Beamer Student Center of his alma mater, a choice school officials said just made sense.

Construction on the center began in 2002, and it was completed two years later. Todd's wife, Lisa Brosious Beamer, is also a Wheaton College graduate.

Lisa Jefferson, the dispatcher who took Todd Beamer's famous call from Flight 93 has told reporters she and Todd's wife were "like girlfriends" in the wake of the attacks, offering support to each other. In the years since Todd's death, a post office and high school have also been named after him.

"Todd's story should always be remembered and honored," Wheaton College Dean Steve Ivester said in a campus publication. "I think the bas-relief moves each rising generation of students that walk the halls of the Beamer Center to be inspired by the courage Todd displayed on Flight 93 and to remember their own calling to be faithful, courageous followers of Jesus Christ."

At the student center, the etching of Beamer shows him walking into the distance, holding the hands of his sons. "Let's roll" is engraved underneath. Jefferson has said Beamer said the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23 before he spoke the now-famous words.

"At age 32, I never expected to be choosing the words for husband's headstone," Brosious Beamer said at Wheaton College's 2016 graduation. "But when it came time, the decision wasn't hard. [His favorite words] are a recipe for a helpful, purposeful life."